Come down to the Charles Hammond American Legion Post 8, and they'll serve you a spaghetti dinner and make a donation to the Thin Blue Line of Michigan.

"We appreciate our first responders," said Teller, who is the commander of Post 8 in Port Huron. "That’s the biggest thing I can think of.

"Most of the proceeds we will generate from the function will go to the Thin Blue Line of Michigan."

The post's fourth annual First Responders Appreciation Spaghetti Dinner will be 4-7 p.m. Jan. 17. The cost is $10 adults and $4 children.

First responders and their families eat free, Teller said. They've been getting a bad rap, he said, and events such as the spaghetti dinner are ways to show them how much the community supports them.

"Thin Blue Line of Michigan is an organization that, if a police officer, EMS driver or firefighter is killed in the line of duty, they will come in and help the family with whatever needs they might have," he said.

Teller said his father, Warren, was a Marine during World War II and a police officer in Detroit during the 1950s.

"He was a motorcycle police officer for a time," Teller said. "He was on the east side of Detroit in the Connors precinct.

"I remember one time I was walking home from kindergarten and these three guys were whaling on me with their briefcases and he came driving by on his motorcycle. He said 'Hit 'em back,' and he drove on down to our house. The other kids scattered."

Teller said he has a nephew who is a member of the Marysville Police Department.

"I think they’re excellent," he said about local first responders

"Over the years I've bowled with them, I've played baseball and softball with them," he said. "I've always been involved in and around police officers."

He said the night will include several raffles, and Joe DeHeno will be providing the entertainment.

"We’re going to have lots of local law enforcement there," he said.

Contact Bob Gross at (810) 989-6263 or rgross@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477